Akame ga kill: A Time of Change
by Dr. Gale
Summary: Everything we do takes time. Weather it be to get somewhere, make friends, or finish something. But what happens when time runs out? Join Tatsumi as he unknowingly races against time to finish off the corruption that plagues the Empire. Join him as he forges friendships stronger than steel. And join him, as he uncovers a mysterious power hidden away centuries ago.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, I am Dr. Gale and I'm bringing you a new story, Akame ga kill A Time of Change.**

 **If you have any suggestions, comments, constructive criticism, or just want to say something, please do so but remember to be polite.**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Akame ga kill.**_

 **-{Gale** **}-**

"Are you sure we should do this?"

It was late into the night. The moon was full and the stars shown as specks across the sky as I stood at the edge of a forest with my dearest friend.

"Yes. I've been sure for the past century. This needs to happen," I answered.

"But the Empire-!"

"Will be fine without us," I finished.

My dearest friend looked down in worry. So I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"I created those tools to protect the empire, and even with half of the Imperial Arms destroyed, twenty six is still enough to protect my creation."

"I know, but what if something horrible happens? We wouldn't be there to stop it," she told me.

I looked her in the eye. "Esdeath, I can't afford to have another civil war on my hands. It would ruin the creation I worked so hard to build."

"But-," she started only for the words to die in her throat.

"Come on," I said softly and guided her into the forest. Away from our home.

 _Looking back on that moment I can't help but feel a sense of pity. If only I had known what would transpire once I left. Someone had been waiting for that very moment. I don't know who and I probably never will. From what I know, they took advantage of my "death" and started a chain reaction of events that put a person known as Prime Minister Honest into power. Oh how I loth him. He's the most rotten man walking this earth. There is corruption running rampant throughout the Empire, and he sits up at the top, using my decedent as a puppet to control it all._

 _I pity the kid. He's ruling blind and has no idea what's going on._

 _I guess that even with three thousand years under my belt, I still have some learning to do. But as for now, I'm more interested in the assassins going around and calling themselves…_

 _What was it again?_

 _Oh that's right._

 _Night Raid._

 **Akame ga kill: A Time of change**

 **Chapter 1**

It was about midday and even though the sun was shining, a small breeze brought comfort to any and all travelers. Like the two driving the cart down the dirt road. The day was utterly peaceful.

"How much further to the rendezvous point?" The one holding the reins asked.

"About ten kilometers down the road, then we go left for two kilometers," his friend replied looking down at his map.

"Twelve kilometers in total, should be there before sundown," the driver said as the ground started to rumble.

"What's that?" The other one asked.

Suddenly a large creature dug its way out of the ground and roared, it's dark brown hulking figure towering over the carriage. From its jaw sprouted two antennas that drooped downward along its brown stone like hide and it's red eyes piercing.

"EARTH DRAGON!" Both of them shouted at the same time.

The beast let out a feral roar as it prepared to crush them with its right claw when out of the tree line dashed a lone figure who severed the beast's limb from it's body in a shower of blood. Landing on the other side, the figure stood up and faced his opponent with a smirk.

"Class A Danger Beast," he said as the Earth Dragon turned to face him.

The monster was enraged that the puny human had cut off its arm and went to smash him with its remaining limb.

"Aww, did I hurt your feelings?" the guy taunted.

The Earth Dragon slammed it's arm down but at the last second the attacker moved. The danger beast had no time to react. The man jumped above him and came down with a fury of slashes. Spinning in mid air he was able to hit many points ranging from veins to organs, finishing his attack when he landed in front of the cart. As he sheathed his sword and the earth dragon bled out in a spray of red, he turned around to face the two stunned men and smirked.

His head sported spiky brown hair with an untamed strand that fell just above his nose between two dark green eyes and over a slightly tanned complexion. He was dressed in a tan sweater vest over a white dress shirt now tinged in red from the beast. His black pants were tucked into a pair of combat boots and a matching pair of leather bracers covering his forearms and hands.

"That was amazing kid," the driver said as him and his friend ran up to him.

"You took down a class A danger beast all by yourself!" The other one said.

"Hehe, It was nothing," The boy said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you kidding, that was awesome!"

"Just doing the right thing," He replied.

"Yeah but," the driver stopped as a thought came to his head. "Say, if you're going somewhere, we might be able to give you a lift."

"Um," the slayer started.

"Think of it as a way of saying thanks."

"Thank you anyway, but I'm good. However if you could point me in the direction of the capital that would be great."

"The capital huh?" The driver asked with a sullen face.

"Yeah. My name's Tatsumi and I'm looking to make it big."

Both of them sighed. "Look kid, the imperial capital isn't some perfect dreamland. While it may be the biggest city, it's been overrun by monsters even more vicious that this one here," the driver said gesturing to the earth dragon.

"I know," Tatsumi said in a downcast manor. "Humans with the hearts of monsters, they are the reason I'm going in the first place."

"Huh?" Both of them asked.

"Never mind, which way to the capital?"

"Alright then. You head down this road for about fourteen kilometers and take a right. Keep going and you'll reach the city," the driver told him.

Tatsumi nodded his head and went to pick up his travel pack.

"Thanks," he said to the two as he walked down the road.

As soon as Tatsumi was out of earshot, the driver spoke to his friend.

"Let's hurry up and get to the rendezvous, Lubbock will be wondering where we are."

 ** _-AGK-_**

Upon entering the city, Tatsumi was taken aback. All the things he had heard about the evil in the empire made him think that the capital would be nothing more than bland and gray with poor people and beggars all around. But here he was, standing in the middle of a cobble stone street, gazing at all the color around him.

There were shops of all kind. A cloths shop, a tools shop, a cafe, a couple taverns and even a blacksmith off in the distance, to list a few. Surprisingly, everyone seemed, fairly happy. Of course, some people did look down. But for the most part, everyone was fairly happy.

"Didn't expect this," Tatsumi said to himself as he looked around. "Well, better head to the barracks," he finished and took off.

What Tatsumi didn't know was that someone was watching him from the cafe. Petting the head of the large orange panther that was curled around the table, she smiled in delight.

After finding the barracks, Tatsumi went inside to enlist. It took an hour or so of waiting in line, but he finally made it to the front desk.

"So you'd like to enlist would you?" The man at the front desk asked in a board tone and sighed. "Alright, just fill out the form and bring it back to me," he handed Tatsumi a sheet of paper with details on the position.

Tatsumi took the form from the man. But when he did a once over, he noticed something.

"Wait a minute. This says that I'll be starting out as a, Private," Tatsumi said in a confused tone.

"You think you're special or something?"

Tatsumi sighed. "No, but I'm not about to waste my talents on something so trivial. Couldn't I at least take the test or something?"

"Well I'm sorry, but I already have more applicants than I can handle. So you can either take the position or leave," the man said looking a little annoyed.

Tatsumi clenched his fist. "Very well then, good day," he finished and walked out the door, slamming it in anger. Taking a breath to calm down, he walked to the edge of the sidewalk and sat down.

"Guess I'll have to find another way to score a good position in the army. Maybe I could stage a kidnapping and save the day or something?" He said to himself. Putting his hand on his chin in while deep in thought he did not notice someone walking up to him.

"You alright?," they asked.

Looking up, Tatsumi was surprised by the closeness of a young woman in her twenties staring down at him with gold eyes and blond hair that framed her tanned skin.

"Not really," Tatsumi replied with a sigh. "I tried to sign up for the army, but they would only give me the rank private."

"They didn't even let you take the test did they."

"No, they didn't," he answered.

"Well who needs to be a soldier anyways. There are plenty of other ways to gain fame and fortune, maybe earn a little coin for their village," she said winking at him on the last part.

"How did you-"

"I've lived here for a long time and almost everyone from the country does the same thing," she said cutting him off. "But, if you want to be in the military so badly, I just might have a friend who can help you."

"Huh?" Tatsumi asked.

"Tell you what. It's about time for lunch and you look a tad bit hungry too. Why don't we get something to eat and I can tell you then?" She suggested.

Tatsumi rubbed his chin in thought. " _She seems nice enough. But I'm not so sure, how could she help and why? Perhaps it's a scam?"_

"Hey, you still there?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Tatsumi told her. " _Yeah, definitely a scam."_

"So what d'ya say?" She asked.

"Well, as much as that offer seems tempting, I'd rather do it myself. Thanks anyway," Tatsumi told her and stood up.

"Alright then. Name's Leone by the way, and if you ever need anything, look me up," she said and gave him a cute wink making him blush.

"Uh y-yeah. I'll do that," Tatsumi answered trying to compose himself.

"Alright, see ya around," she said and walked off, her white scarf catching the air as she turned.

"Yeah, see ya," Tatsumi replied as he slumped against the wall.

In his mind he could imagine his two friends laughing hysterically at him. But it was interrupted by a growl from his stomach.

" _I guess I am a little hungry,"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he looked for some place to eat.

 ** _-AGK-_**

After leaving one of the taverns, Tatsumi found himself just walking around aimlessly. He had no specific destination in mind and didn't need anything at the moment, so he just walked around. There weren't as many people on the streets now as rush hour was over but a few were still walking around. As he kept walking though, he noticed four Wanted posters on one of the stone walls. Nothing new there, so why did they catch his eye.

" _Night Raid?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he walked up.

The first wanted poster showed a young woman who was said to be in her mid twenties with silver hair and a single purple eye. How the other one went missing was not explained and he wondered what happened. Najenda the poster said her name was.

The second was of a man also in his mid twenties with black hair and blue eyes. Tatsumi noticed he was very muscular. " _That guy must be really strong,"_ he thought. Bulat.

The third one was a young woman in her mid twenties. Purple eyes, purple hair, and a slender build. Sheele it stated.

The final one, up at the top, was a girl in her teens. The poster read of a girl with very long black hair and red eyes. Akame.

"Night Raid," a guard said walking up behind him. "A group of assassins who are notorious for killing at night as the name says."

Tatsumi turned to the guard and raised an eyebrow.

"Their targets usually consist of upper class men and nobles. Nobody knows what their motives are though, but there have been rumors," he finished.

"They attack at random?" Tatsumi asked.

"I don't think so, but that is what other people think," the guard said.

"Huh," Tatsumi said reaching for his chin in thought.

"I have to get going," the guard announced. "Stay safe."

"Alright," Tatsumi said while looking at the posters.

" _Night Raid huh?"_ Tatsumi thought.

While Tatsumi was looking over the posters, the guard slipped into an alley undetected and his eyes glowed a deep blue.

"Everything is as it should be."

 ** _-AGK-_**

"I already told you I'm full enough without some country trash like you staying here!" The old innkeeper shouted as Tatsumi landed on the cobbled street. "So stay, out!" He finished and slammed the door.

Tatsumi got up and brushed himself off and gave the inn a dirty look. " _Not going there again."_

He sighed and walked away. Tatsumi had tried to get a room for the night, but everywhere else was full, or so they said. He looked back and saw a group of people being warmly accepted by the owner. He sighed again and kept walking.

After a while, he found a nice place to rest by a lone wall at the edge of an intersection. It wasn't a five star hotel, but it would do. He put on his fur lined winter coat and sat against the wall, laying his bag beside him.

" _Guess I'll be sleeping outside tonight,"_ he thought and closed his eyes.

He just drifted off to sleep when the low rumbling of a carriage slowly passing by brought him back with a groan.

"Wait," the occupant called out and the carriage stopped.

The two guards on top of the carriage looked around for a few seconds before spotting Tatsumi.

"Are we really doing this again Lady Aria?" One of the guards asked.

"You know I can't help it, it's just who I am," a young girl replied as she got out of the carriage, her soft white boots clicking on the cobble stone as she walked over to the sleeping boy.

"Hey," she said as she stopped in front of Tatsumi.

Tatsumi opened his eyes slowly and lifted them toward the voice calling to him. Standing at his feet was a young teenage girl with chest length blond hair and dressed in expensive clothes.

"You alright there?" She asked with an innocent smile.

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you, I just wanted to know if you were alright," she said.

"I could be better, but all the inns are full or won't let me stay," Tatsumi replied.

"Yeah, people tend to be jerks a lot," she said and sat down beside him.

"Alright, what is it?" Tatsumi asked.

The girl was surprised but quickly regained her composure. "Well, I could offer you a place to stay the night."

"What?" Tatsumi asked not expecting that to be the case.

"You'll have to excuse Lady Aria," one of her guards said walking up to him. "She has a tendency to invite poor people to stay the night when they have no place to go."

"Really?" Tatsumi asked.

The guard nodded his head.

"Thank you for the offer but-,"

"Oh won't you please come with us. The nights in the capital are cold and you never know who you might run into. I just couldn't bear thinking that someone died or got hurt when I could have helped them," she pleaded with wide blue eyes.

"W-well when you put it that way, I guess It wouldn't hurt," Tatsumi said and scratched the back of his head.

"Yay!" She cheered and grabbed his arm. "Come on!" She dragged Tatsumi to the carriage as the guard sighed.

 ** _-AGK-_**

"Welcome home dear," Aria's mother said as the two walked into the living room room.

Tatsumi was captivated by the elegant structure of the room. He never would have guessed Aria's parents would be this wealthy. The mansion was huge and the estate was larger than his village.

Aria went to sit down on the couch opposite her mother while her father, and elderly gentleman, was sitting in a green wing back chair sipping tea. Two guards standing behind him.

"I see you've brought home another guest," the father noticed.

"Oh my, so it would seem. How many does this make?" Her mother joked.

"Mother," Aria whined clearly embarrassed.

"T-thank you so much for having me," Tatsumi stuttered.

The father chuckled. "No need to be so nervous young man. Please, have a seat," he gestured to the chair across from him.

"Thank you again so much," Tatsumi replied and took a seat.

Aria's father smiled softly and took another sip of his tea and then lowered it to the table with a soft clink of delicate china. He looked across the table at Tatsumi, " Are you new to the city?"

"Yes. I'm from a village to the north," he answered.

"Is that so? What brings you to our city?"

"Well, sir, I've come to join the army to help my village a little."

"Really? So your village was subject to heavy taxes as well?" Aria interjected.

"Yeah. I figured if I could get the capital to notice me a little then maybe I could secure a good position in the army."

"So, your plan is to make a name for yourself in the imperial capital. Is that correct?" The old gentleman asked.

"Yes sir," he replied.

The father smiled. "Well, as you may know, the capital may be a wonderful place, but it is surrounded by three squabbling tribes. If you enlist, you may be expected to join them in the fight."

Tatsumi nodded. "I know, and I'm prepared to do so."

"That's good to hear. To many youngsters like yourself just throw their life away in hopes of adventure. Some of the people Aria brought home spoke similar words, but they were empty promises," he folded his hands. "You however seem to know what you're doing."

Tatsumi smiled a little at his comment.

"Hey Tatsumi. Did you come to the capital by yourself?" Aria asked.

"No, I'm not alone," Tatsumi started and folded his hands. "I have my two friends with me, Sayo and Ieyasu. Or, did," he replied.

"Oh, what happened?" The mother asked.

"Well, on our way to the capital, we were ambushed by bandits. Because of this, we got separated," he paused. "I haven't seen them since, but both of them are decent fighters, so I'm not to worried about them making it to the capital alive. It's just that Ieyasu can't navigate his way out of a paper bag. But if the two of them didn't get separated, then he should be fine," he finished.

"Then it's settled," the father said. "I have a friend in the military who could help you. I'll just give him their names and ask him to have a look around."

"R-realy?" Tatsumi asked.

""Yes, really," Aria's father confirmed.

"That'd be great!" Tatsumi said with enthusiasm. "Thank you."

The three of them smiled in response but the guards had a solemn look plastered on their faces. Tatsumi however didn't notice.

"I have a good feeling you'll see your friends very soon," Aria said with a smile.

"That'd be great," he responded.

The grandfather clock on the wall suddenly chimed nine o'clock.

The father looked at the clock and sighed. "Well, I think it's time we went to bed, after all, we have very a busy day tomorrow," he turned to one of the guards behind him. "Please take him to one of the guest rooms."

The guard responded by nodding his head with the same solemn look on his face. He walked forward and gestured for Tatsumi to follow him. Tatsumi suddenly felt really tired. It had been a long day and an even longer journey. He followed the guard from the room with the promise of sleep.

"Goodnight Tatsumi," Aria said to him with a smirk as the doors closed.

 ** _-AGK-_**

"Here you are," the deep monotone voice came from the guard as he opened the door to one of the guest rooms.

"Thank you," Tatsumi replied and headed into the room.

The guard nodded as he closed the door leaving Tatsumi by himself. Briefly looking around the room, he walked over to the large window on the wall opposite to the door. The view from his window was more than impressive. In front of him the estate stretched out in a splendid extravagance. He could see most of the capital from his vantage point and The Grand Palace shining, a beacon in the distance.

" _Sayo, Ieyasu. Please be safe,"_ Tatsumi thought to himself.

He looked at the king size bed off to the side and walked over to it.

"Better get some sleep," he said as he took off his boots, climbed in, pulled the covers over his head and fell right to sleep.

 ** _-AGK-_**

"Now I can add another entry to my diary, mm-hmm. What an addicting little hobby this is," Aria's mother said to herself as she, accompanied by two guards walked down the moonlit hall towards her room. The large windows casting eerie shadows as they walked through the passage.

The three stopped when a tall figure stepped out of the shadows. Black dress shoes clomped on the wooden floors, his black trench coat fluttered behind him as he moved. As he came forward he tilted his black, wide brimmed fedora slightly to shield his eyes. A belt of chain link went around the outside of the coat covering a white dress shirt and black dress pants. He stopped and faced the three exposing a pink, intricately knotted cravat around his neck as he lifted his chin. Glowing eerily, the moonlight reflected off his pink tinted glasses.

The two guards moved in front of Aria's mother to protect her, only for a blade to slice her in two at the waist from behind. The last thing she saw was a giant pair of scissors with a panda head symbol on the handle.

The guards who were caught off guard, turned and saw a slender woman with purple hair wearing a tight fitted lilac cheongsam, the skin on her bare shoulders catching the moonlight as she cleaned the end of her blade with a swipe across the front of her dress.

What sounded like a clap of thunder striking twice filled the house. The dark man from the shadow stood over the now prone guards, two long black pistols in hand, smoking at the ends. Blood, bone and brain matter scattered on the walls and floor.

"I'm sorry," the woman said with her head bowed.

Tatsumi's eyes snapped open as he heard the two bangs.

"What the?!" He cried as he got up and put his boots on.

He ran over to the door and quickly opened it, almost tearing it off its hinges. Dashing out into the dark hall, he ran towards the noise, intent on helping. His forward motion was suddenly halted when he saw something out one of the windows. Skidding to a halt, he looked out the window and his heart dropped. Standing on a net of wires suspended high above the ground were five individuals. But he only needed to recognize one of them to know who they were.

"It's them," he said to himself.

The first one was a girl with pink hair that was put up into two ponytails on either side of her head. She held what appeared to be a large rifle that was almost as long as she was tall.

The second one he recognized as Akame. She was cloaked in an open black trench coat that hung off her shoulders like a cape.

The third one was in a suit of armor that completely encased his body, he looked to be a very large and imposing male figure. He was standing with his back to Tatsumi. The white cape across the the man's broad shoulders moved slightly as he adjusted a spear that he held in his right hand.

The fourth one was holding some of the wires in his glove covered hand. He was in a crouching position and his long green, fur trimmed hoodie flew in the wind behind him. A pair of goggles adorned his green haired head.

The last one was harder to make out but appeared to have feline features and seemed very familiar. Beside her was an orange panther.

" _It's Night Raid,"_ Tatsumi thought out loud. "I can only assume they targeted this family because they're rich." He could not hear what was being said, but he saw the direction the one holding the wires was gesturing.

"Hey Akame, those guards are targets too," the one with green hair said pointing toward the guards pouring from the house.

"I'll take care of it," she said, slightly turning her head to the guy in armor and spoke with a commanding tone. "Bulat, you're with me."

Akame leaned back and fell off the wires only to land with a soft thump on the ground while the man in armor, Bulat, landed creating a small crater. The company of guards moving on their position, ready to stop the siege.

Tatsumi was so entranced with Night Raid that he didn't see the other two assassins walking down the hall just a few yards to his left.

"Stand back," the one in the black trench coat said to the other.

A surprised Tatsumi looked to his left to see the assassin pull out one of his guns and blast at the wall in front of him creating a cloud of dust and a lot of noise. Once the dust cleared, there was a giant hole in the wall.

Battle cries could be heard coming from the tree line as many more guards came onto the scene upon hearing the explosion. The man in the trench coat smirked as he put the gun away and reach his right arm over to his left side. Tatsumi felt a surge of energy as the assassin quickly flung his arm out expelling chains from his sleeve impaling the oncoming guards, in a continuous motion the chains anchoring the victims to the ground below.

Tatsumi's eyes widened at the entire display. Watching the second assassin jump onto the chains and start running across them gave him a thrill.

"Wha?" Tatsumi said clearly stupefied.

"Neat little trick isn't it?" The man in the trench coat asked indirectly to Tatsumi. The woman that was with him Tatsumi recognized as Sheele. She walked through the hole in the wall, jumped onto the makeshift chain bridge and ran. She leaped to the ground soon after and the man retracted the chains with a swift jerk.

"See you around," he said in a casual tone and jumped through the gaping hole in the nearly dark hall.

Tatsumi saw Aria being escorted into the trees. "Guess I'm helping to guard the family then," he said to himself as he dashed off, leaving the other guards to fight the rest of Night Raid.

"Do not let that sword touch you," the lead guard at the front said to the rest, referring to the katana Akame wielded.

A few seconds of tension passed until the lead guard gave the command to go as he charged forward. Akame retaliated, dashing toward the guards faster than the squad moved. She reached the lead guard and before he knew it, she had cut his throat. She came to a stop on the other side of the guard, his body collapsed to the ground.

The guards that were charging behind, came to a halt only to face Akame and her lowered katana. Stone faced, she stared at their stunned faces. Sheele ran up from behind Akame and cut two of the guards in half with one swipe, while the last two guards had charged on Bulat, who was standing back watching the ladies work. Bringing his spear behind his head like a javelin, the armored warrior launched it at the one on his left. The spear entered through his soft belly of the guard pinning him to the ground beneath.

"Who are these monsters," the last guard cried out as he stopped. He tried to run away but only got a few feet when a loud crack of gunfire echoed through the air and a yellow blast of energy went through his skull.

"Not much of a guard if he's just gonna run away," the girl in pink said sounding disappointed as she stood on the net of wires.

"Yeah, I think a lot of people would run from that," the green haired one replied and looked through one of the windows on the top floor seeing a familiar blond holding Aria's father off the ground by his throat, slowly choking him.

"Please, let me go, I, I have a little girl," he pleaded through gasps.

"Alright, I'll let you go," Leone said in a dark tone and threw him on the ground.

He landed on the floor with an audible grunt. Gasping for air he looked back at the assassin, his gaze met the yellow eyes of an orange panther that walked up and sat beside her.

"Leia," she called out. "It's chow time."

"Wait, wait no!" the man cried out as the panther pounced on him and bit his neck, tearing his throat apart, streams of blood sprayed everywhere.

"Good girl Leia," she praised with a smirk.

"Grrrrrr," a hollow sound came in affirmation from the panther's throat. The big cat licked its huge paw rubbing it across the side of her face to wash away the blood on her whiskers.

Leone looked out the window and saw the green head returning her gaze and gave a thumbs up to tell him her part was done.

"Aria! There you are," Tatsumi yelled as he caught up to Aria who was with one of the guards in front of a shed.

"Tatsumi?" She asked.

"Great, you made it," the guard said to him. "I'll hide Lady Aria in the shed and wait for reinforcements. See what you can do to stall the enemy until then, got it?"

Tatsumi was surprised. "You really expect me to take on-," he was interrupted by a woosh of air as Akame landed behind him, sword drawn.

Turning around, Tatsumi drew his sword from its sheath. "Well, I guess it's too late to complain now!"

Akame dashed toward Tatsumi who braced himself for an attack.

"You're not a target," she told him.

"Huh?" Tatsumi questioned as she leaped onto his head in the blink of an eye and spring boarded off of it. Landing behind him she dodged the bullets shot at her from the lone guard and quickly dashed up to him and sliced his abdomen.

"You're done," she said without a hint of emotion as he stumbled back and dropped dead as the poison killed him.

Aria, who was now dead scared, was backed up until she tripped on a rock and fell back with a scream. She looked up in fear as Akame loomed over her, sword at the ready.

"Stop right there!" Tatsumi yelled as he tried to land a hit on her.

Akame jumped a few feet to the right as the blade came down where she was standing.

"I told you you're not a target," she told him again. "You don't have to die."

"Well I'm not about to let you kill an innocent girl," Tatsumi said as he stood in front of Aria.

"So you won't step aside?" she asked.

"Well I'm not going to back down now!"

Akame got into a stance and raised her blade in front of her. "Then you've made your choice."

She dashed towards him and swung her sword horizontally only for him to block it just in time. She immediately swung her katana again forcing Tatsumi to duck and roll out of the way.

As the two swords clashed in a fury of sparks, the cat and Leone walked towards the scene about halfway into the trees.

"Ahhhh, that was easy," the blonde exclaimed while stretching.

"Prrrrrrr," Leia agreed..

The clang of steel on steel reached their ears and they saw Akame fighting someone off in the distance.

"Huh? That's odd," the blonde said to herself. "It's not like Akame to take this long."

She noticed who she was fighting.

"Wait what?" she face palmed. "Gah. Poor guy can't catch a break can he."

The two of them took off at a faster pace to stop Akame before she killed the Tatsumi.

" _She's better than me,"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he barely blocked another hit. " _Don't have much of a chance, but I don't have time to think about that. Because if I can't save one girl,"_ the two of them locked swords. " _How can I expect to save my entire village."_

Tatsumi pushed away and swiped at Akame who jumped over his head and kicked him in the back. Tatsumi stumbled a little and quickly turned around, rolling to the side to dodging a jab from Akame.

Getting out of the roll, he mustered all the strength in his legs and dashed behind her, nicking her right cheek. Both of them stood still as some blood trickled from the cut.

"You actually managed to get me," Akame said in slight surprise.

The two were at a stand still, waiting for the other to make a move. Both of them tensed up. Akame made the first move. She spun and dashed at Tatsumi who turned around in a defensive move. He brought up his sword to block, but Akame had expected this and changed the angle and caught the sword by the bottom of the hand guard, pulling it out of Tatsumi's grasp.

Tatsumi's eyes widened as she brought her katana around and went to stab his heart. The blade cut through the cloth, but it didn't go further and Akame pulled back. Tatsumi fell back with a smirk.

He got up and pulled out a wooden carving a little bigger than his hand. "A parting gift from the elder of my village."

Standing up, he prepared to go hand to hand. Akame narrowed her eyes and charged him so fast he didn't have any time to react.

"Hang on," someone said as they pulled Akame back before her blade could connect.

"What are you doing?" Akame asked unimpressed with the others actions.

"We still have some time left. Besides I kinda know this guy and it seems that he doesn't know what's going on here," she said.

Tatsumi adopted a look of recognition. "Wait a minute, Leone?"

"Good to know you still remember me," she said with a wink and let Akame go.

"Listen," her voice was serious. "You thought that we were here to kill innocent people. That right?" Leone continued.

"Um, yeah," Tatsumi replied as he picked up his sword.

Leone started walking toward the shed with Leia sitting beside Akame. "Well, you might see things differently when you see what's behind that door."

Aria sunk back a little as Leone kicked the door and it splintered into pieces which fell on the other side.

"Here it is," Leone told Tatsumi as he walked up to the door. "Welcome to the capital kid."

Tatsumi's eyes widened in horror. Corpses, corpses everywhere. Belted down to tables, lock behind bars, hanging from the ceiling. Each one of them with deep cuts, bruises, some of them were even cut open. Missing limbs or digits. All of it, covered in blood and rot.

"What?" Tatsumi asked in a shaky voice. The stench caught up in his nostrils and he gagged.

"We found out that this family liked to pick up people from the country and torture them for their own sick pleasure," Leone told him.

Tatsumi walked into the shed a little ways, horrified, covering his nose.

"I knew it was bad. But this is just inhuman," he said looking around the room.

His gaze fell on one particular body hanging from the ceiling and his eyes widened. Her black, blood stained hair was draped in front of her naked form. Cuts of all sizes, gashes, and large bruises covered each inch of her skin. On the top of her head was a faded hair clip in the shape of a flower.

"S-sayo?" Tatsumi asked, his eyes widening. "SAYO!"

He ran forward and sliced the chains around her wrists. Catching her body as it fell, he laid it on the floor and cradled her head in his arms.

"Sayo?" he croaked out.

Aria tried to sneak away but Leone grabbed her by the hair.

"Woopsy, didn't think we'd forget about you did ya?" She asked as Aria adopted a nervous look.

"These people really did this?" Tatsumi asked as he brushed the hair out of Sayo's face.

"Yes, they did. All of them, even the guards are guilty for keeping it a secret," Leone said.

"She's lying!" Aria yelled and Tatsumi looked at her. "I had no idea anything like this was going on! Who would you believe!? These, these murderers? Or the one who was kind enough to give you a place to stay?" She asked in a hysterical tone.

"T-tat-s-sumi?" A weak voice asked.

Tatsumi quickly looked down at Sayo to see her black eyes half open.

"Sayo? Y-you're alive," Tatsumi said, his voice still shaky.

Sayo gave a weak smile. "Y-yeah. B-but, wh-what are y-you do-ing here?"

"I was invited by a girl named Aria to stay the ni-," before he could continue Sayo interrupted him.

"N-no. You need, t-to get, away," Tatsumi's eyes widened. "That girl, sh-she did, th-the same, to us. Gave us, a place, to stay, and, and something, to eat. But we, blacked out," She drew in a shaky breath. "W-when we, woke up, we found our-selves, here. That, girl then, tortured me, but I, I held strong," she slowly raised a shaky arm and pointed to one of the cells. "Ieyasu, wasn't so, lucky."

Akame walked over to the cell and knelt by the body. "The Lubora disease. Once it reaches it's final stages, there is no cure. I'm sorry," She turned to Tatsumi. "The mother liked to poison the people they kept here and record each reaction in her journal."

"Fine, I did do it!" Aria said as she pushed herself away from Leone.

"These kind of people are nothing but livestock, so I can do what I see fit! And that girl, she has beautiful hair that livestock like her doesn't even deserve! Mine is always giving me trouble, so I made sure to give her extra special attention!" She shouted, an aura of killing intent radiating off her body.

Tatsumi didn't know what to think. How could this little girl be so evil? And her family. They were so nice, or so they seemed. How could humans with the hearts of monsters look so innocent? He just couldn't believe it. Maybe it was an act or something? Akame drew her sword and said something about finishing her off.

" _Wait. What was it that mentor had said?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself.

"Wait," Tatsumi said as he remembered. Gently laying Sayo down, he stood up.

"What?! You mean that after all this you still want to protect her?" Leone asked.

"No," Tatsumi said. "I'll do it."

I all became clear to Tatsumi what needed to be done. The three of them had always stuck close like glue since they could walk. But the one thing that brought them together had laughed in their face for the last time. Death. It had taken away almost everything from them and now it had taken Ieyasu. And death was laughing again. He would have no more of it.

Tatsumi walked up to Aria, staring her square in the face and in one fluid motion, slashed horizontally across her chest. She fell on the ground, gasping for air like a fish out of water, drowning in her own blood. Tatsumi stood there with a hardened face as he watched her die.

"Just, like mentor said," Sayo commented weekly. "A rose, may be, beautiful. But beneath, the petals, of some," she drew in a shaky breath. "Is a mess, of jagged thorns," her eyes drooped slightly.

Tatsumi looked over his shoulder toward his friend ."Sayo!" He called out and ran to her side.

He reached his friend and propped her head up. "Hang in there Sayo, I'm going to get you some help."

She shook her head slightly. "Sorry, Tatsumi," Sayo's voice grew quiet. "But I won't make it."

"No, you'll make it Sayo, just stay with me," he picked her up, cradling her in his arms bridal style.

"Tatsumi, stop," Tatsumi looked into her dying eyes. "I've lived, a wonderful life, with my two brothers, in all but blood, by my side."

"Sayo," Tatsumi pleaded.

"And my, only regret, is that I won't be able to take care of you two, any more," a tear appeared in her eye.

"Sayo," he whispered, a few tears running down his face.

"Don't cry, Tatsumi," she reached up and wiped a tear from his face. "I'm going, to be in a, better place. I'll see mentor, Ieyasu. Our parents."

Tatsumi continued to look into the eyes of his dying friend.

"But if I see you there, too soon. I'm going, to kick your butt, for all eternity. You got that?" She scolded.

Tatsumi nodded and tried to blink away the tears that kept welling up.

"Just promise us, you won't die, okay?"

Tatsumi just stood there, holding his dying friend. "I promise," Tatsumi said after a few seconds, his voice cracking.

Sayo smiled even more. "Thank you, Tatsumi. And, take care of yourself," She finished as her eyes closed.

She was still. There was no pulse. There was no breath. There was no life. Sayo was gone, and death continued to laugh.

"Sayo," Tatsumi said one last time and he collapsed on his knees and cried into his dead friend's chest.

By now, all the members of Night Raid had assembled outside the shed and were looking at the scene.

"So, you think he's Night Raid material?" The green head asked Leone.

"Yeah, he even managed to get a hit on Akame," Leone gestured to the cut on Akame's cheek.

"I will admit he is pretty decent," Akame added as she rubbed Leia's head.

"If he got a hit off you he must be," Sheele said.

"He probably just got lucky," the assassin with pink hair said.

"So what do you guys say?" Leone asked.

Tatsumi had finally stopped crying and noticed the rest of Night Raid was gathered around "Why are you all still here?" He asked.

"For you apparently," the pink haired assassin said shrugging her shoulders.

"What?" Tatsumi asked, he furrowed his brow.

"We were wondering if you would like to join Night Raid," Leone said. "After all, it's not every day someone gets a hit off Akame."

Tatsumi's eyebrows went up in surprise as he looked toward the woman he tried to kill to protect a girl. A girl who did not deserve protection. No, she was not a girl, she was a monster. He realized he could not look at Akame. He lowered his head a little. "I, I don't know."

"That's alright. You don't have to decide just yet. We can take you with us and you can think about it," Leone told him.

Tatsumi looked down at Sayo's dead body with a mournful look in his eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll take them with us," Bulat said.

"But, won't I see where your hideout is?" Tatsumi asked.

The assassin in the black trench coat walked forward and pulled out a syringe. "A sedative. This will knock you out until morning. Problem solved."

Tatsumi looked back at Sayo's body and nodded.

The assassin nodded back and walked towards him. "This should knock you out in a minute or so," he injected the short needle into his neck. "So just let it do its thing"

Tatsumi nodded his head as he immediately began to feel drowsy. One of the members of Night Raid came out of the shed with Ieyasu's body and walked up to the group as Leone took Sayo.

"Let's go," Akame said.

Tatsumi's eyes started fluttering as he tried to stay awake a little longer. Bulat saw this and picked him up and placed him over his shoulder. Ash the team of assassins headed off, Tatsumi finally fell asleep, waiting for the same dream he had every time he did so.

 **-{** Gale **}-**

 **Okay, so I haven't read the manga, but I do know a few things about it. But basically, this is going to follow the anime (somewhat) with my own spin on things. (May or may not read over the Wild hunt arc as well as a few others)**

 **For instance, Tatsumi isn't completely ignorant, Sayo is the one left alive instead of Ieyasu, I have my own OC in here (I'll introduce him properly next chapter) with more on the way.**

 **Anyway, a huge shout out to [** The Jade Fang Wolf **] for his help and I'll see you guys around.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Hey Hey everyone, the doctor is in, and today (or night) I bring you, chapter number 2 (Part 1). Now, I'm going to be changing and adding a 'few' things story/plot wise. So if I wind up making a mess or you have a suggestion, just… Go right ahead. My PM is open and you are free to review. Speaking of which...**

 **{** Drew Luczynski **}**

 **Thank you. Hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **{** jackie-boy72 **}**

 **Sorry, but as for the pairing I already have something planned. Don't worry though, I have something special in mind for Akame.**

 **{** RevansStories **}**

 **Sorry, I'm not planning that for pairing either. I do have something in mind though.**

 **{** NinjaFang1331 **}**

 **Thanks (gives them a thumbs up)**

 **So thank you all again so much and I hope you all have a wonderful time.**

 **As always, if you are going to criticize, please make sure you are polite. I will also gladly take any and all suggestions into account.**

 _ **DISCLAIMER:**_ **I do not own Akame ga kill. Also, check out [** The Jade Fang Wolf **] and his story:** _ **Tatsumi The White Knight**_

 **{ Gale }**

The dream started out like it always did. The slow footsteps crunching on the freshly fallen snow greeting the emptiness of what I assumed was the night. Then came the same cold I had grown accustomed to over the years, a cold that the bloody rags so desperately tried to hold back.

The soft cry from a child reached my ears and in response, the darkness was pulled away. " _Shhhhhh,"_ came a soothing voice. " _It's alright it's alright, you have nothing to fear,"_ the calm, deep blue glow of the speaker's eyes came into view and the crying stopped. " _There. That's better isn't it?"_ He used his index finger to pull away some of the cloth and smiled as the child laughed with him chuckling in kind.

Pulling his finger away, he continued his trek through the snow. It was always like this. The mystery person would continue his trek through the snow in silence, the constant rhythm of his footfalls greeting the night until I started seeing the warm lights of fire passing by. The man's pace becoming slower and quieter as we kept going.

And just as I remembered, he set me down in front of a wooden door and the cry of a child reached my ears once more. " _Shhhhhh,"_ he hushed. " _It's alright young Tatsumi,"_ the crying became a small whimper. " _These people will take care of you, as I cannot. They will give you a home and a family to love. You will grow and flourish here. And when the time is right,"_ the darkness was pulled back over me. " _You will know what to do."_

I heard a him knock on the door before he left, his quick footsteps disappearing soon after. But it had only been a few seconds when what I assumed to be the door creaked open.

"Hello?" A deep masculine voice rang through the night. "Hello?" The man repeated.

I heard the child's cry again and the darkness was pulled away. Standing above me was none other than Sayo's father. His messy black hair and unshaven face framed his green eyes. Eyes that, in each dream no matter how many I had, seemed to always bring a feeling of new hope.

"What?" He asked softly.

"Honey?" The voice of Sayo's mother came from inside.

Sayo's father looked back inside for a moment before turning back to me and reaching to pick me up.

"Honey?"

The dream faded away with that final word echoing through my consciousness as light began to seep in. Blinking a few times, I allowed my eyes to adjust to the morning light. My gaze met the wooden ceiling and I became confused. I had forgotten where I was, until the memories of last night caught up to me.

The capital, Aria, her family, the attack, the shed, Sayo and Ieyasu, and…

"Night Raid."

 **Akame ga kill: A Time of Change**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Welcome to Night Raid [Part 1]**

Silence greeted the open air with a firm handshake. As if nature itself had closed its mouth and ceased the cry of the wild. But the voices of Sayo and Ieyasu continued to ring throughout Tatsumi's head like a bell.

" _Come on guys! The sooner we get the capital, the sooner we can earn some money!"_

" _Just promise us."_

" _Yeah! Let's save our village!"_

" _You won't die."_

" _Let's make a pact!"_

" _Okay?"_

" _When we die, we die together!"_

The sun had risen a few hours ago and it's golden light painted the ground and trees in a soft glow. But that did little to elevate Tatsumi's spirits. How he missed their voices, the very same that echoed through his thoughts the past three days since their death. He knelt in the soft earth in front of two new graves, head bowed in silent mourning.

 **Here Lies Ieyasu**

 **Energetic, Courageous, Encouraging, A Brother held in the highest regard.**

 **May Your Soul be at Rest**

"Ieyasu."

 **Here Lies Sayo**

 **Kind, Strong, Helpful, A Sister held in the highest regard**

 **May Your Soul be at Rest**

"Sayo."

"I'm sorry I couldn't have been there faster. Maybe I could have saved you. Both of you," his voice shaking as his hand reached to touch each headstone.

It had been three days since he had arrived at Night Raid's base after the incident at the mansion. It was a really nice place from what he had seen. It was surrounded by lush forests and a crystal clear river. He had situated the graves to make sure his brother and sister had a clear view of all of it.

"Hey Tatsumi," a voice came from behind him.

Turning his head slightly to face the speaker, Tatsumi saw Leone standing a few feet away with her arms crossed in front of her. Her cat like characteristics no longer present.

"Oh. Hey Leone," he replied in a low voice and turned back to the graves.

Leone smiled softly and went and sat down beside him. "They must have been good friends."

Tatsumi gave a hollow chuckle before answering, "I've known them as far back as I can remember. Maybe even further."

"That long huh?" Leone asked.

"Yeah," Tatsumi replied. "They've been the only family I've ever known."

"Only family? Surely you guys must have had someone," Leone spoke.

"No," Tatsumi replied while shaking his head. "No mother, father, sister, or brother. No family whatsoever. Ieyasu's parents died from a plague a few months after he was born, and Sayo's mother died from blood loss after she gave birth to her. We lived for a couple of years after that with Sayo's father but, when we were five, he died in a hunting accident. Came back to us as nothing but torn flesh," his eyes dulled.

Tatsumi's voice began to waver as a few tears trickled down his cheeks like rain. Staring down at his knees he noticed his hands were shaking. "I remember his strong hands." he said lifting them into view. He turned them slowly. "I remember how they cooked for us, fed us, protected us, taught us right from wrong," Leone looked at him in sympathy and just listened. "But most of all, the hands that held ours when we needed him, or shielded us when we were hurt," he sniffled a little. "At one point, he said that because I was older, I would need to look out for the two of them after he was gone. I never thought he would leave and I only realized the weight of his words after he, he…"

"Died?" Leone asked.

"Y-yeah," he replied as more drops ran down his face. "So I did as he told me. I made sure the two of them were alright. Whenever, we were short on food and, had little to eat, I would always give my share to them. Or if their ax or arrow was broken, I'd take it and repair it myself. We'd, hunt together, cook together, sleep together, eat together, and, just live together. As a family. But…now I, I... I can't," Tatsumi hung his head causing a few more drops to fall.

Seeing Tatsumi in despair, Leone reached over and pulled Tatsumi into a tight side hug. Her warmth was alien to the cold pain that ate away at him. It made him hurt even more, and yet at the same time, he felt strength and comfort in her embrace. "Sheele's, probably better at this than me, but sometimes when people are sad or depressed, a good hug can go a long way to cheer them up."

Tatsumi raised his head a little and looked at the two slabs of stone. He still felt the agonizing heartache that was trapped inside his chest, but what Leone had said seemed to be true. As he sat there in her embrace, feeling slowly made its return to his dead limbs and the hot flow of tears was quelled allowing Tatsumi to blink his eyes in rapid succession to clear his vision. The despair in his heart though, was still present, but it was much less agonizing than it had been a few moments before.

"Better?" Leone asked.

"A little bit," Tatsumi replied and sniffled.

"That's a good start."

"I guess," Tatsumi said as Leone let go. "I just, don't know what to do. The three of us have been dreaming about coming here for so long, and when our village needed money, we were so excited to join the military and find our fame and fortune together. But, now…"

"Now you've seen the empire for what it truly is," Leone stated.

"Yeah. I mean, I had a pretty good idea before I got here from people who would pass through our village. But I never expected anything like that," he lowered his head. "I just don't know what to do now."

"You already have an offer to join us. So why not?"

"Well..." Tatsumi trailed off.

"Tell you what," Leone started as she got up. "How about I introduce you to everyone and then we'll see. Okay?" She asked.

"Um, Okay. Why not?" Tatsumi replied and stood up.

"Great! Now come on," she told him and walked away from the edge while grinning from ear to ear.

Tatsumi hesitated for a few seconds before following her into a fort seemingly chiseled into the cliff face.

 **(] Agk [)**

"Here we are," Leone said as they walked into the room.

The room looked as if fit for a king awaiting his subjects. Against the back wall was a red banner with a symbol that resembled a black bird over a yellow backdrop. In front of it was a large chair that actually looked like a throne, adding to the feel of things. In the middle of the room was a large table made of polished wood with chairs all around. Lining the side walls were smaller tables and chairs, indicating that the group was much larger at one point. It was magnificent.

"Wow," Tatsumi remarked.

"Yeah, pretty amazing isn't it? This it Night Raid's meeting room," Leone told him before pointing at someone sitting at one of the smaller tables with their nose in a book. "And that over there is Sheele. You may have already heard about her though."

"Yeah. She's one of the ones who has a wanted poster right?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yup," Leone answered before calling out to the fellow assassin. "Hey Sheele!" The purple headed assassin took her nose out of the book and looked at them. "I'm bringing the new recruit around and introducing him to everyone. "

"I see," she turned to Tatsumi and gave him a warm smile. "Welcome to Night Raid."

"Oh, he isn't part of us just yet," Leone told her.

"He isn't?" Sheele asked.

"Nope," Leone replied. "He's having a little trouble deciding."

"Ahhh," Sheele said and put her index finger on her chin in thought.

"I was hoping you could give him some encouragement," Leone said.

"Well," Sheele put her hand down and gazed at Tatsumi with a sudden cold expression. " If you don't join us, then we're going to have to kill you. You've seen too much already."

"W-wh-what?!" Tatsumi asked in shock.

"Soooo anyway, Sheele this is Tatsumi, Tatsumi this is our resident klutz and airhead, Sheele," Leone introduced while slinging an arm around Sheele.

"It's not that bad Leone," Sheele complained.

"Sheele, you went out and bought sugar when we sent you out to get salt," Leone countered.

"At least I'm not all gun ho like somebody I know," she countered.

"Touche," Leone admitted.

"LEONE!" Someone shouted from the door.

Tatsumi flinched a little and looked towards the speaker. In the open doorway was none other than Night Raid's sniper with an angry scowl on her face.

"What is HE doing here?" She asked pointing a finger at Tatsumi.

"I'm bringing him around and introducing him to everyone," she replied.

"That so?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yup. Mine, this is Tatsumi. Tatsumi, this is Night Raid's best shot Mine," Leone introduced the two.

Mine walked right up to Tatsumi with a glare and gave him a once over. "Hmm, you don't look like you're cut from the same professional cloth as us. But you did manage to get Akame," she admitted. "Of course it was probably just a fluke," she shrugged her shoulders.

"So?" Tatsumi asked, a little irritation seeping into his voice.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that you don't look like much," she told him as she walked towards the door a few steps before stopping. "Probably don't have too much either."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tatsumi asked while he gritted his teeth.

"Relax Tatsumi, that's just Mine's way of saying hello," Leone told him as Mine huffed.

"I'll be down at the shooting range if you need me," Mine said casually and walked out.

"O-kay," Tatsumi said with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on, I still need to introduce you to everyone else," Leone told him.

"Alright then," Tatsumi replied and slowly followed her down one of the hallways to the side.

 **(] Agk [)**

After what seemed like an hour of walking they rounded a corner and stopped at the edge of a large field. "And here is the next member I'm going to introduce you to," Leone said.

Tatsumi looked out to the center of the field. Standing there was an incredibly tall and muscular man. He was spinning a staff faster than Tatsumi could keep eyes on and his sweatpants were drenched from exertion in the heat of the day.

"Looks like he's working up quite the sweat," Leone remarked as a slight blush crept onto her face.

The man did one final slash in the air with his staff aimed toward a large stack of cement blocks. The motions created a gust breaking through the wall sending the bricks tumbling into a pile. Tatsumi had never seen anything like it. Standing up straight, the man looked at his work with a pleased expression.

"I'll go get him," Leone said with a smile.

She picked up a towel and water bottle that were on the railing and walked out onto the field. As she approached the man she could hear the cracking of his joints as he reached his hands behind his back to stretch his muscles.

"Hey hot stuff!" Leone called out as she threw the towel at him.

The towel opened and landed across his head, covering his well styled, jet black hair. Grabbing at the cloth he turned around. His blue eyes meet her yellow ones as he raised an eyebrow in surprise and smiled.

"Ah Leone, what brings you out here?" He asked.

"Oh you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that." They started walking back toward the edge of the the training field. "I was actually just showing the new recruit around and introducing him to everyone," Leone said gesturing toward Tatsumi.

"Ah yes," He said to Tatsumi as he draped the towel over the rail. "You're the guy we picked up the other night. It's Tatsumi right?"

"Yeah, that would be me" Tatsumi replied as the guy walked forward. This man was even bigger than he thought.

"Name's Bulat," he said pointing to himself and stuck out his hand. "Pleasures mine."

"Uh, nice to meet you," Tatsumi said and shook it.

"Likewise," Bulat said. "So, I trust Leone's been a good girl, showing you around the place?"

"Yeah," Tatsumi replied and looked around. "It's very big. I've never seen anything quite like it."

"Don't get too many superstructures back in your village do you?" Leone butted in.

"None at all," he responded. "The closest thing we have to one are in the pages of legends and fairy tales."

"Really?" Bulat asked. "What kind of Legends and fairy tales are we talking about?"

"Just what you would expect really," Tatsumi stated. "Castles, crypts, the capital of course. But my favorite would have to be the story of Jade Mountain."

"Jade Mountain?" Leone asked. "Can't say I've heard that one before."

"It's a common story among the traders and merchants that went through our village," Tatsumi told her. "Particularly those that tend to do their business with towns and villages. That's probably why you haven't heard it."

"Probably," Leone said with a shrug. "By the way, where is your village?"

"Oh, it's up north, a few weeks journey from here," he answered. "One of the hunting settlements around the base of Mount Abarath."

"Oh yeah, I've been around there before," Bulat spoke. "Pretty nice place despite the cold."

"Yeah," Tatsumi spoke with a fond tone. "You get used to it though."

"I don't think I could ever get used to the cold," Leone said and shivered at the thought. She turned to Bulat. "Anyway, we need to get going. I need to introduce Tatsumi to everyone else before the Boss comes back this evening."

"Huh?" Bulat asked. "Isn't the boss-. Oh yeah that's right," he said with the snap of his fingers. "Forgot it was today," Bulat with a slight laugh. "Well, you better get going then."

"Alright then," she said in a flirtatious voice. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll see you around."

She walked away, swinging her hips as she went leaving a flustered Bulat to clear his throat and stair after her as she left.

"Hey Tatsumi!" Leone shouted as she turned back. "You coming or what?"

"Huh?" Tatsumi asked before realizing what she asked. "Oh! Sorry, I'm coming."

Tatsumi ran after her as Bulat chuckled with a smile.

 **(] Agk [)**

The two of them had been walking for about twenty minutes when Tatsumi began to feel a rise in the surrounding humidity. It wasn't to noticeable at first so he just dismissed the feeling. But with each step he took the air seemed to grow heavier. Tatsumi pulled at the collar of his shirt and spoke.

"Hey Leone. Is it just me or is it getting humid?"

"Hmm? Oh, no it's not just you. We're heading to the hot spring," she replied.

"You guys have a hot spring?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yup. It's one of the reasons we picked this place for our hideout," Leone told him. "It's also where two other people I need to introduce you to are."

"Okay," Tatsumi said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Leone smiled to herself. Sure, Tatsumi was a little rough around the edges, but he seemed like a good guy. Kind of reminded her of a recruit they had a while back actually. Rougher than sandpaper, but his determination shone through and he quickly rose up to be a great fighter. But Tatsumi, there was something special about him. And hell if she'd let him suffer the same fate as her late friend.

They walked out of the treeline and Leone spoke. "We're here."

Tatsumi's gaze fell on the steaming, crystal clear water that was bordered by a smooth stone surface with a few lawn chairs and tables by the water. One of which was being occupied by a familiar figure who was reading a book, his face being hidden in the shade of his wide brimmed fedora with the coat and glasses missing.

"I thought you said there were two?" Tatsumi asked Leone.

"There are," Leone pointed to the middle of the water where Tatsumi saw the guy with green hair from the other night, in nothing but a pair of green shorts, hanging over the water in a hammock fast asleep.

"Oh," Tatsumi said with a little surprise.

"Come on," Leone told him and started walking over to the lawn chairs. "Hey Maxie, what's up?" she called to the man in the lawn chair.

A loud clap of thunder reached Tatsumi's ears and he jumped into the air. A bullet sped past Leone who didn't even flinch. The explosion that followed splintered a tree behind them sending the tree crashing to the ground.

"Leone," an angry voice came from the young man as he held one of his pistols beside his book. "How many times, have we told you not to call us Maxie."

"Hey, take a chill pill will ya Maxwell," Leone said in defense. "I'm just messin' with ya."

Maxwell stared her down before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Sorry about that Leone. But please, stop calling me Maxie."

"Sure thing Max," Leone said with a smile that said otherwise.

Maxwell sighed and laid his gun on the table beside him where Tatsumi noticed the barrel was engraved. 'Christened' in neat gold script. "So, he's the guy from the other night?" Maxwell asked as he took off his hat. His eyes were pink like the shades he wore the other night with short hair of the same color.

"Yup," Leone answered and introduced the two of them. "Maxwell, this is Tatsumi. Tatsumi, this is Maxwell."

"Nice to meet you Tatsumi," Maxwell said and stuck out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you two Maxwell," Tatsumi said carefully as he slowly walked over to him and shook it.

"No need to be defensive, I won't bite," Maxwell assured Tatsumi as he gave him an honest smile.

"Hey Lub!" Tatsumi and Maxwell turned their heads to see Leone yelling at the guy in the hammock. "Lub!" No response. "Lubba!" Still no response. "Lubbock!" The man named Lubbock stirred a little then rolled onto his side, back now facing her.

Leone huffed in annoyance.

"Come on Leone," Maxwell taunted with a grin and picked up his gun. "You of all people should know how to wake someone up."

Holding out his gun, he aimed at one of the branches the makeshift hammock was tied to. The trigger was pulled and a loud clap of thunder marked the firing of the bullet as it shot out and hit the branch spot on with a small explosion. Lubbock felt the loss in support and his eyes snapped open only to find himself falling.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" He shouted in surprise and fell into the water with a splash.

Tatsumi didn't quite know how to take this new group of people. But he was starting to feel comfortable and was enjoying the familial way they interacted with each other. He was trying to hold back his look of shock when he noticed Leone holding back a look of mirth. Lubbock came up sputtering a few seconds latter.

"What was that for!?" He shouted in between coughs.

Maxwell gestured to Leone and Tatsumi and explained himself. "We just thought you'd like to meet Tatsumi here. But you were asleep so we, meaning I, had to wake you up."

"And you thought dunking me was a good idea?" Lubbock deadpanned.

"Yup," was Maxwell's simple reply.

An angry crease formed on his forehead. "Why couldn't you have woken me up normally!?"

"Because then I wouldn't have something to smile about today," and true to his word, Maxwell had a genuine grin on his face that went from ear to ear.

Lubbock sighed and glared at Leone who dared to laugh at his predicament. She didn't care though and even Tatsumi laughed a little. " _Wait a moment,"_ Lubbock thought to himself and paled as he looked at the position of the sun. "Uh hey Maxwell."

"Yeah?" He replied.

"You wouldn't happen to have the time would you?"

Maxwell held out his arm and pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. "Let's see. It's about, four thirty."

"Four thirty!?" Lubbock yelled and ran out of the water to get his stuff together. "Oh man I need to get going."

Lubbock ran over to a rack of towels beside the lawn chairs and quickly dried himself off before slipping on a gray shirt with the top half being green. "Sorry our meeting was so short Tatsumi," he said frantically as he ran past him to put on his sandals. "Maybe another time we could get better acquainted."

And with that, he took off in a rush back to base to do who knows what leaving the three in stunned silence.

"What just happened?" Tatsumi asked.

"Eh, he was probably going to get a few thing ready for the boss before she got back and lost track of time," Leone answered.

"That would explain a few things," Maxwell spoke.

"Yeah I'm sure it would," Leone said. "Anyway, we should get going. The boss is going to be here soon and I still have to introduce Tatsumi to one last person."

"Well, if that's the case you better get going," Maxwell replied and turned to Tatsumi. "Sorry for the scare earlier Tatsumi. I was nice meeting you."

"Yeah I, suppose it was," Tatsumi replied with a slight smile.

"By the way" Maxwell started and turned to Leone. "This 'last person' wouldn't happen to be Akame would it?"

"Yup," she responded.

"Good," Maxwell said and pulled out bleach white envelope with an orange seal resembling a wolf's head from one of his pockets. "A letter arrived for her and I was wondering if you could get it to her?"

"Oh, Sure," Leone reached out and took the letter from his hand.

"Thanks," Maxwell responded.

"No prob," she responded.

Leone and Tatsumi left Maxwell to read his book in peace. He sat back down in the lawn chair with a small grunt, put his hat back on his head, and continued to study the written information.

 **(] Agk [)**

"Isn't Akame the one who almost killed me the other night?" Tatsumi asked in worry as the two of them walked along the gravel shoreline of one of the surrounding rivers.

"Yup, but don't worry," Leone spoke as she continued to look at the letter in her hand. "That was under different circumstances."

"Yeah," Tatsumi replied, though he was still weary.

"Don't be like that," Leone scolded him. "I'm sure once you meet her you'll hit it off nicely."

"Sure," Tatsumi said and leaned his head back a little to get a better look at the envelope. "You know what's in it?"

"Nope," was her short reply. "But if I had to guess, I'd say it's the recipe for that new glaze Uziel was working on."

"What?"

"Akame likes to cook and eat meat," Leone replied and held up the letter. "Same with Uziel."

"Okay. And who's Uziel?" Tatsumi asked.

"You'll know soon enough," Leone replied with a grin.

"O-kay then," Tatsumi said and noticed a faint column of smoke rising into the air a little ways away.

Leone noticed this as well. "Looks like she's already cooking something."

The two continued their walk along the river until they reached the source of the smoke. The column of gray was coming from a large fire which crackled underneath a large bird like danger beast set on a spit. In a wooden chair beside the fire was none other than Akame who was currently munching on a half eaten drumstick.

"Hey Akame!" Leone greeted making her turn her head.

"Hmm," she hummed and returned to her food.

"Wait, did she kill that giant bird herself?" Tatsumi asked in astonishment.

"Yup," Leone answered. "Akame's kind of our resident wild child."

"Leone," Akame said in her usual monotone voice and tossed her a drumstick. "Have some."

"Thanks," Leone said as she caught it. "I also have something for you."

"What is it?" She asked and Leone walked over to her and handed the letter over.

"A certain someone sent this to you," Leone said with a knowing smirk and Akame quickly took it from her hands.

"Thanks," Akame thanked her and put the letter away for latter.

"No prob, just make sure you save some for the rest of us this time," Leone said in a joking manner.

Akame stared at Leone with her blank expression for a few second before mumbling. "No promises."

Tatsumi just looked on in confusion before Akame turned to him. "Have you decided to join?"

"I'm, still unsure," he admitted and rubbed the back of his head.

Tatsumi startled at the sound of a growl that came from the other side of the fire. A familiar panther made its way over to them. Tatsumi backed up a little, thinking that it might attack him.

"There you are Leia," Leone said playfully and reached down to scratch behind her ears. "Have you been down here stuffing your face with Akame this whole time?"

"Actually Leone," a voice spoke from the other side of the fire. "She's been keeping me company."

Looking to the other side towards the voice, Tatsumi saw Najenda who was currently sitting in another wooden chair. True to the posters description given from the wanted posters, she had Silver hair that was cut short and a single purple eye with an eye patch covering the area where her other one once was. She was currently wearing a plain black suit and…

" _Is that a, metal arm in place of her right one?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself " _Or maybe it's just some kind of green armor plating?_

"Ah, Boss! Welcome back!" Leone greeted as she went around to see her.

"It's good to be back," she replied.

"Did you bring me anything good?"

"Now why would I do that?" Najenda asked and brought up her metal arm, moving the fingers in a way that they made an ominous creek.

"Huh?" Leone asked.

"About one of your most recent assignments?" She started. "I was told you completed it.."

Leone gave a nervous laugh and started to back up

"Three days, overdue," she finished.

"Aww crap," Leone said and made a break for it.

Najenda was ready however and extended her "arm". The lower section of her metallic limb shot out with a burst of speed that took Tatsumi by surprise and grabbed Leone who fell on her back. A series of repeated clicking sounds came from Najenda's arm as the cable slowly retracted to bring the arm back together, dragging Leone through the gravel along with it.

"When fighting a powerful opponent it's unwise to get caught up in the fun," Najenda told Leone. "Shouldn't you know better than that by now?"

"Alright I've learned my lesson now please let go of me," Leone whined and Najenda released her.

"Good," she responded and faced Tatsumi. "So, you're the boy Akame's been telling me about. Tatsumi was it?"

"Yes," Tatsumi replied shortly as Leone started muttering and sat up.

She nodded her head. "From what I've been told, you're skills are very impressive. After all, it's not everyday someone lands a hit on Akame."

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm that good," Tatsumi spoke in a somewhat quiet voice.

"Hmm," Najenda hummed and turned to Leone who was now rubbing Leia's soft head. "What are your thoughts Leone?"

Leone stopped rubbing orange fur and looked her dead in the eye. "Oh I can assure you, he is very promising."

Najenda moved her eyes and fixed Tatsumi with a cold, calculating stare. Tatsumi's body became stiff as a board and he resisted the urge to flinch under a gaze so strong.

"We'll see," she said with hardened face and stood up. "Akame. Inform everyone of my return and tell them to gather in the meeting room. We'll discuss this matter then."

"Understood," Akame said and dashed off to do her job.

"Now," Najenda pointed to Leone and Tatsumi. "You two will come with me to the meeting room."

"Sure thing boss," Leone happily replied and motioned Leia to follow her as they left for the base.

 **(] Agk [)**

Tatsumi stood before the leader of Night Raid, surrounded by its members and within the walls of their home. He felt as though he was on trial for some crime as everyone's eyes were glued to his form. If only it were so. It was here that it would be decided whether or not he could join Night Raid, weather or not he could become an assassin. There was no doubt in his mind that he would like to join. They seemed to be nice people, despite a few oddities among them, but…

"Lubbock, you may give your report," Najenda announced.

Lubbock stepped forward. "Of course," he said and cleared his throat. "Three nights ago, we began our mission to take out a family of nobles who repeatedly took country men, women, and children into their home with the promise of food, drink, and a warm bed to sleep in. This of course, was a complete lie to which the family would put a sleeping agent in their dinner and take them to a shed out back where they would become victim to many different varieties of torture. Tatsumi here was to be their next victim. That is, until we showed up."

They were only eight people, nine if he joined. They could assassinate as many rotten people as they wanted. But what difference would that make in an empire full of corruption. Millions of people lived in the city alone.

"I see," Najenda said with her chin in hand "And the boy, Tatsumi. How did he wind up here?"

"Tatsumi had the impression that the family was innocent and kind like all the others. Maxwell encountered him some time after the death of the mother before leaving the building and once that happened, Tatsumi went after the daughter to protect her from us. He arrived in front of the shed just as the guard with her was about to hide her in it when Akame came onto the scene and a fight between the two followed. During the fight, Tatsumi managed to land a hit on her however, it wasn't fatal by any means."

"Still, it is quite impressive," Najenda remarked.

"Yes. Anyway, Akame was about to kill him when Leone stopped her and suggested we show him the horrors the family had committed. His reaction was what one would expect, but there was more to it than that."

"Oh?"

Lubbock nodded his head. "His two friends were victims and the girl, Sayo, was barely alive. In short, Tatsumi killed the daughter but Sayo still wound up dieing. Akame and Leone saw potential in him and decided to bring him with us. So Maxwell drugged him and we brought him here."

"Thank you Lubbock. Now, I want to hear all your thoughts on this matter starting with you Leone," Najenda said.

Leone nodded back. "Well, he's not stupid that's for sure. Saw right through me when I tried to swindle him."

Najenda sighed and shook her head. Leone needed to stop the habit of her's before she got herself killed. She gestured for Bulat to go next.

"There is great sorrow within him. If he is to become one of us, he needs to overcome this obstacle. But, I have no doubt he has a heart that burns with passion."

Najenda raised an eyebrow. Only Bulat could see something like that in a person. Next was Sheele.

"Um, well, I think he's nice."

"Yes, but what about him joining Night Raid?" Najenda asked.

"Oh! Uh, I, kind of agree with Bulat. He is sad, but I'm sure he can overcome it," Sheele gave Tatsumi a warm smile.

Najenda hummed in thought and looked towards Mine who sighed.

"He managed to land a hit on Akame so I guess that's something. But I have my doubts."

Maxwell rolled his eyes and Najenda motioned to him.

"Nothing to add there. Bulat pretty much just said it for me."

And finally, Akame. She waited for a few seconds before speaking her mind. "He is definitely skilled. But if he were to join the army like he originally planned, odds are he would have died early on."

Tatsumi looked at Akame, eyes widened slightly. Was what she said true? Could he have really died?

"I see," Najenda said as she closed her eye in thought. "I think I understand the situation now."

She opened her eye and stared straight at Tatsumi along with everyone else. "Tatsumi. I have decided. You show too much promise to be done away with. And so I extended my offer for you join us. But before we do, I would like to hear what you have to say."

"Uh, well…"

"Go on, I want to hear what you have to say," Night Raid's leader insisted.

Tatsumi took a deep breath to calm himself before choosing his words. "Well, I think you guys are doing this for the right reason, but surely you can't make much of a difference? It's eight people versus an empire. What can you do?"

Najenda smiled at his question. "Who said it was just us?"

"Huh?" Tatsumi asked in confusion.

"I will illuminate," Najenda said. "There's an anti empire group near the south border of the empire, The Revolutionary Army. They started out small and weak like all other revolts before them, but unlike the others, the Revolutionary Army grew into a formidable organization."

"An, army?" Tatsumi asked in disbelief.

"Yes. However, they needed special operation units in and around the capitol to do what they could not. Recon, assassinations, infiltration, you name it. And so they created two groups. The first one, Night Raid, would handle things inside the city. The second one would handle things in the surrounding area."

Najenda paused and took the time to gaze at the empty chairs along the wall and table while everyone else lowered their heads. "However, as time went on, our group got smaller and smaller. We started out with thirty five members, and we were down to twelve when we came up with an idea. We would chose four individuals who were strong, capable leaders and have them form splinter groups through recruitment, that would hide in Night Raid's shadow."

She reached out her arm and gestured to the main table where a map of the imperial capital sat open for all to see. "The Slums became home to the Seven Man Army led by Ichiro, the harbor and canal became home to the Crimson River led by River, the housing district became home to the Silver Wings led by Kishi, and finally, the market district became home to The Wolves led by Uziel."

Tatsumi walked over to the table and gazed down at the map where four emblems contrasted against the bland color of the paper. Each emblem had a name underneath, making it easier to identify each group. The first one was obviously the Seven Man Army which was a black number seven styled to look like a scythe, the second one was the Crimson River which was red with a pair of cross swords akin to a pirate's flag, the third one was the Silver Wings which was silver with a bird's wing in the center, and the final one was The Wolves. Their emblem, Tatsumi realized, was the very same one on the letter Akame got.

"We may be putting only a few fires out at a time right now," Najenda continued with Tatsumi giving her his attention once more. "But once the Revolutionary army makes its move, amidst the chaos we'll head straight for the cause of this mess," she clenched her metallic hand. "The minister."

Tatsumi looked back to the map and had a sudden realization. "But, what will happen once this is all done?" He turned back to her. "Won't the surrounding nations or powers take advantage of the empire's state of weakness?"

"True, the empire will be weakened. But the leaders of the Revolutionary Army, myself included, will step in to bring order and do what we can to bring our strength back up to what it once was. Possibly further with the absence of corruption."

"I see," Tatsumi said crossing his arms.

"What do you think?" Najenda asked.

"Well, you may have a righteous end goal in mind for everyone. But that doesn't excuse the fact that you kill to do so…"

"Tatsumi," Bulat interrupted as he immediately saw where this was going. "We know this fact, and we're prepared to face the consequences. Believe me, if we could go about this another way we would. But this war Tatsumi. And in war the only true equalizer, is death."

"Bulat is a former high ranking officer of the imperial army," Najenda explained, gaining Tatsumi's attention. "If anyone knows the extent of the corruption, it's him."

"Really?" Tatsumi asked and turned to Bulat for an answer.

"Yup. They used to call me 100 Man Slayer Bulat back in those days," his gaze hardened and his voice carried power and meaning. "And as a soldier, I saw Hell itself take form on the battlefield. A great majority of the soldiers are just as bad, if not worse than those that command them. So when putting down the seemingly endless rebellions, I saw time and time again their actions of murder, torture, rape, and destruction."

"Whoa," Tatsumi responded in horrified aww.

"Whoa is right Tatsumi," Najenda interjected. "This revolution was built on the hopes and dreams that one day we could be free from the tyranny that kills life as we know it. Would you let innocent people suffer?"

Tatsumi was taken aback by the sudden question but quickly replied. "Of course not."

"Will you idly stand by and watch other people's misfortunes?" She continued.

"No."

"Would you let people die because of another man's greed?"

"No."

"Will you let this empire continue to squeeze the life out of its people "

"No."

"Will you let this evil that eats away at the spirit of our nation, continue to feast!?"

Tatsumi steeled his gaze. "Never."

Najenda smiled in satisfaction and extended her metal arm with a clenched fist. "Then I, Najenda of the revolutionary army, leader of Night Raid, offer you a place among us, as the harbingers of a new age. Will you join us?"

This was it. The offer was on the table and with a firm resolve, Tatsumi spoke the one word, the only word, he could.

"Yes."

Everyone around him held a similar reaction to this one word. Leone's face split into a bubbling smile, Bulat had something between a smirk and a smile, Steele smiled warmly, Mine had crossed her arms and held a poker face, Lubbock had a full smirk, and Maxwell held a small smile.

"Then I welcome you Tatsumi, to a life unlike any other," Najenda announced. "May your resolve hold true and your will never to break. I, Najenda, welcome you to Night Raid."

 **(] Agk [)**

It had been hours since she had said those words. But even though the welcoming of a new member was a good thing, she always felt a sense of guilt creep it's way up from the deep depths of the past. As if an undead corpse was climbing its way out of the grave to snatch her.

"Najenda?" Lubbock's voice brought her back to reality.

"Hmm?" She raised her head to see concern written across his face.

"You've barely touched your food. Is, something wrong?"

Najenda looked down at her plate with her one good eye and saw what he said was true. She had her fork in hand, but all she was doing was simply nudging the food Lubbock had worked hard to cook. Provided he wasn't the best cook, but it did smell good.

"It's nothing," she replied sternly and stabbed a carrot slice.

"Are you sure?" Lubbock asked as she brought the cooked vegetable up to her mouth and ate it.

She chewed for a few seconds and swallowed, but didn't answer. Her face became downcast and she took her glass and sipped at its contents. Lubbock sighed in defeat and returned to his own plate in silence. Najenda lowered her glass as she placed it back on the table and looked at the hearth that was alight with a warm flame. But it was hardly comforting. The tongues of fire reached up like hands calling for help. The flicker of light like a soul, desperately clinging on to life.

"-would have liked," Lubbock's voice brought her back to reality again.

"Hmm?" She asked and turned back to him, interrupting his train of thought.

Lubbock was in the middle of pulling something out from the bag by his chair. "I, said that I'm sorry that I couldn't find as much information as I would have liked. But not too many people know much aside from the basic information. However," he pulled whatever it was out of the bag and held it out in front of her. "This seal was on a letter we intercepted that was sent to none other than Numa Seika of the North himself."

The seal was blue in color with a serpent like dragon eating its own tail. In the middle though was a simple circle resembling a ring. On the outer edge was a multitude of unknown symbols.

"I, don't think I've seen this seal before," Najenda admitted.

"You haven't," he stated. "Nobody has. Almost as if a ghost sent it. But one thing's for sure, who ever sent was the one behind their rising military might."

"How so?" She asked.

In response, Lubbock reached into his bag and pulled out the letter that was in the envelope. "Listen to this. Dear Numa Seika, The Empire's Strongest is closing in on your capital city and I must apologize once more for your imminent demise. You've been a good friend and I have no doubt that your parents would be proud. You have done your part with honor and my deepest gratitude, and now it's my turn to do mine. May you rest in piece Numa, I will not forget this."

"So this mystery person, single-handedly orchestrated the building of the Northern Tribe's military might to gain the Empire's attention? Enough so that they would send their strongest general and her army to wipe them out? But, for what purpose? If he or she knew they would fail?" Najenda wondered out loud.

"Nobody knows," Lubbock admitted as he took back the seal and placed it back in the bag. "But enough of that. I've taken the time out of my day just to cook us something tonight and we haven't finished. Gotta eat it before it gets cold. And stop being so blue, you look better with a smile then a frown."

Najenda laughed a little before picking up her fork and smiled. "Yes, I suppose it would be a good idea to eat before it gets cold."

Lubbock nodded and mimicked her expression as the two of them dug in.

 **(] Agk [)**

Tatsumi sighed as he continued to swipe his knife against the potato's skin. It was a new day and Akame was already 'training' him. How cooking was supposed to help train him to be an assassin was a complete puzzle to him though. He turned the potato over in his hand and sliced more of it's brown skin away.

"Tatsumi," Akame said from the other side of the kitchen. "Pass me the knife on the third row down, second one from the left."

Tatsumi looked to his left at the knife rack and found the knife she was requesting was in his hand. "Oh, I'm using it right now for the potatoes."

"Then hand me the one in the bottom left."

"Sure," Tatsumi put the knife he was using down and pulled out the other knife only to find it was dirty. "I'll just, wash it off first."

He put down the potato and went over to the sink where he turned on the faucet. The water poured out and he grabbed a rag from the side to scrub the mess off the blade. As he did so, he could hear the voices of the other members from the table as they talked. He couldn't make out the conversation but it was upbeat.

He put the blade up to eye level and inspected it. He set the rag down and turned off the faucet before drying it off. "Here you go," he said and handed the knife to Akame handle first.

Akame nodded as she took the knife and began to cut up the beef on the counter in front of her into squares. Tatsumi sighed as he returned to the potato and continued to swipe away at the skin.

"Hey, you think you could hurry up? I'm starving," Mine shouted from the table.

" _Come on Tatsumi, hurry up. We're starving,"_ Ieyasu's eager voice echoed in his head and he stopped all motion.

He remembered that day. They had just returned from probably the best hunting trip in history and there was so much to go around. Enough to last the whole village months. That night, he decided to make something special for the three of them. The hot smell of spices floated through the air and Ieyasu couldn't help but plead with him to hurry up. And although she didn't say it, Sayo was also silently pleading with him to be done.

"Yeah, come on Tatsumi. My taste buds have been taunted long enough," Bulat said dragging him from his thoughts.

Tatsumi sighed and looked over to the pot on the stove. Akame had just added the celery, all that was left was to add the potatoes and…

"Akame," Tatsumi called out, stopping the girl from "testing" to see if the flavor was satisfactory. "I said wait till it's finished."

She turned around and a small splash was heard from the pot. "I am waiting."

"Sure you are," Tatsumi deadpanned and returned to the potato in his hand.

A short while later, he dumped the sliced potatoes into the pot and leaned against the counter. All he needed to do now was wait and let it cook. Akame on the other hand had moved to a fruit dish and was plucking grapes off one of the vines one by one and popping them into her mouth.

"Well? Are you gonna hurry up or what?" Mine complained.

" _These guys are going to run me ragged,"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he face-palmed.

 **(] Agk [)**

A few hours later after having finished breakfast, Tatsumi found himself beside Akame on a ledge that overlooked a small pond. Opposite them was a series of waterfalls crashing against the liquid surface creating a line of white mist. Akame had brought with her a woven straw basket that she carried on her back with him doing the same. She had said he would help her collect some fish for lunch as part of his training.

" _Maybe it had something to do with patience?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself.

"Our target today is Koga Tuna," Akame announced.

Tatsumi's expression suddenly became one of disbelief and shock in response. " _I guess not,"_ he thought.

Koga Tuna were best known to be ridiculously hard to catch and almost impossible to find. But the flavor and size made all the trouble worth it. He had caught one back in his village when a school was making their way down one of the bigger rivers. They were probably some of the smartest fish to ever live and it was by pure and stupid luck that he had managed to not only catch one, but catch one that was five feet in length as opposed to the average three and a half feet.

"Um, Akame?" Tatsumi asked as the girl loosened her tie.

"Yes?" She asked turning to him.

"I, don't see any river," he told her.

"Mhm," she nodded and pulled her tie over her head to throw it onto the ground. "Every year Koga Tuna migrate up north where they were born to lay their eggs. Those eggs in turn stay in an almost dormant state until the next year when they hatch and follow the rest of their kind back to the south."

"Really?" Tatsumi asked as Akame began to take off her boots. "If that was the case, wouldn't they be a more endangered species due to poachers?

"It's not an easy to reach place," she told him and tossed her boots off to the side. "From what I know, the region is very mountainous and cold with danger at every corner."

"Oh yeah?" Tatsumi asked with an air of curiosity and set his basket down beside him. "What kind of danger?"

"Well," Akame began as she tugged off her sleeveless top. Tatsumi almost turned around to give her privacy before he saw that she was wearing a white form fitting suit of some kind, also sleeveless, beneath it. "Some say there is a giant bird that inhabits the entire region. Others say It's a dragon of some kind. But aside from whatever the creature is and the Koga Tuna, nothing else lives there."

"I see," Tatsumi said as Akame stepped out of her skirt to reveal the bottom half of the suit she was wearing which resembled short shorts that reached halfway down her upper leg.

"You're going to want to lose some clothing unless you want to be waterlogged the entire time," Akame told him and dove into the water below.

"Um, okay," Tatsumi said to himself as he began to pull of his sweater vest.

A few seconds latter, three fish were thrown from the water and landed in Akame's basket with a resounding thud. Tatsumi was stupefied and let the sweater vest fall off his arms. How could someone catch one, let alone three, of those slippery fish in one go?

Akame took that time to resurface and let out the breath she was holding. "Koga Tuna are highly sensitive to aura which is why they're hard to catch. When you reach the bottom, you must suppress your aura. Then choose a target and strike when ready."

"Okay," Tatsumi said. "Just one question."

"Shoot."

"What's uh," he paused and gestured to his clothing. "What's with all, this?"

"This?" Akame asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your, swim suit?" He half asked.

"Oh," she said shortly. "It's a basic suit made from the skin of a Shifting Swimmer, a rare otter like danger beast that lives in the far south and is known for its agility and speed when swimming. It helps me better move in the water in addition to minor protection underneath my clothes."

"Wow," Tatsumi said in surprise. "That sounds, expensive."

"I'm sure it was. A very… good friend got it for me for my last birthday and I wear it almost all the time."

Tatsumi nodded his head in acknowledgment before getting back on track. "So, get to the bottom, suppress my aura, pick a target and strike?"

"Mhm," Akame confirmed.

"Alright then," he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside as he ran for the edge. "Here goes nothing!"

He jumped and landed in the water with a loud splash. They were there for the rest of the day, with Akame getting multiple fish and Tatsumi missing just as many. He did however manage to catch a few which he loaded in his basket.

After returning to the base, Akame insisted they cook their catch immediately. To which Tatsumi (reluctantly) agreed and began cutting away at the first fish he grabbed. It took a while, but they managed to cook ALL of it by the time dinner came around.

It was much quieter than last time though with only a few hushed conversations. After everyone else had eaten, they began to trickle out of the room to do whatever it is they wanted. Leaving Najenda who wanted to speak to Akame and Tatsumi.

"So, in the end Tatsumi caught how many?" Najenda asked after everyone else had left.

"Five in total," Akame replied.

"Hmm. Not bad," Najenda said with a smile and turned to Tatsumi. "Most new recruits are only able to get three. Well done Tatsumi."

"Oh, well, I'm sure you guys could have caught a lot more," Tatsumi said humbly while rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment.

"Not really," Najenda said with a bit of mirth in her voice. "I'd probably have a hard time getting around with this old thing," she gestured to her prosthetic.

"Really?" Tatsumi asked and looked at it. "Doesn't look that heavy from the way you're carrying it."

"No, I'm just used to it," she told him. "It's actually just a little over twenty two and a half kilograms."

"Wow," Tatsumi said sounding surprised. "That's some heavy metal."

"It is. Most of the weight is in the plating though," she told him. "Now, tomorrow evening we have a mission for you. Leone and Lubbock will go out tomorrow to scout out the target and give you the information. I've also assigned Maxwell to accompany you in case things go south. Is this acceptable?"

"Yeah, just tell me who it is," Tatsumi replied.

"Very well. Your target is none other than captain Ogre of the imperial police. Better known, as Ogre the Demon," she told him. "Once a top notch soldier, he retired and became a captain in the imperial police. From what we know, he is an incredibly skilled fighter who or ruthless and will show no one mercy. From what the client told us, he is guilty of covering for the oil merchant Gamal when he goes through with a shady deal by having an innocent civilian take all the blame. That innocent civilian would then be arrested and executed. The client was the wife of his most recent victim."

"W-what?" Tatsumi asked in shock.

"It's true," Akame interject while chewing a slice of smoked Koga Tuna. "Uziel sent a group of Wolf members to take him out a while back in the past, but all of them were slaughtered."

"S-slaughtered?" Tatsumi asked in shock.

"Yes," Akame spoke. "Apparently, he likes to poison his blade with some kind of toxin that keeps wounds from clotting. One of their members made it back only to die of blood loss a few minutes latter."

"H-how-how many…"

"Sixteen," Najenda told him. "It's was not pretty. Uziel didn't want to take any chances, but even sixteen members couldn't take him down. And since Ogre is almost always surrounded by civilians or imperial police he couldn't- Tatsumi?"

Najenda's words fell on deaf ears as Tatsumi let her words finally sink in. " _Sixteen people. And he killed all of them?"_ Najenda spoke again but he couldn't hear her from within his thoughts. " _I'm just, one guy. How am I supposed to take him down?"_

"You shouldn't doubt your abilities Tatsumi," Bulat tore him from his thoughts as he walked in and pulled up a chair across from him. "Otherwise you'll never be any stronger."

"Bulat," Akame greeted with a mouthful of fish.

"Akame," he greeted in kind with a nod.

"Wh-uh," Tatsumi tried to find the words. "I'm, not doubting my abilities."

Bulat looked to him. "Maybe not on the surface. This doubt, comes from within."

"Within?" Tatsumi asked.

Bulat reached out and tapped his index finger on Tatsumi's chest over his heart. "Your heart is filled with it," Bulat retracted his hand and leaned back in his chair. "Their names were Sayo and Ieyasu right?"

"Uh, yeah," Tatsumi said as a flash of pain shone in his eyes. A flash Bulat caught.

"There," Bulat said and leaned forward. "That right there, was your doubt."

"What?" Tatsumi asked.

"Your doubt," he stated. "Comes from the death of your friends. You doubt your abilities because you couldn't save them."

Tatsumi's eyes widened in shock. That, that couldn't be right. It was the empire who was the cause of their death, not him. Why would he blame himself? Did he blame himself? No, of course not. Then why did he feel… responsible?

"You blame yourself for their deaths when the responsibility falls on the empire," Bulat continued. "This is the reason for the doubt that has dug its roots in your heart. And in order to uproot this doubt, you must learn to move on."

"Move, on?" Tatsumi asked in confusion.

"Hmmm," Bulat thought as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Tell you what. You two will join me in on training grounds tomorrow. Be there about mid morning and make sure you eat a good breakfast."

"Will do," Akame replied between mouthfuls of fish.

"Good," Bulat spoke and turned to a bewildered Tatsumi. "Tatsumi, no mortal man can uproot any kind of pain, misery, or doubt from their heart alone. Which is why we are here to help."

"Wha- but, why?"

"Humans are social creatures Tatsumi," Bulat answered. "Most don't realize it, but we rely on ourselves as much as we do others to thrive and grow. Weather it be physically, mentally, or emotionally."

Tatsumi was stunned. He had never thought about it that way. Bulat took his silence as his cue to continue.

"You're a member of Night Raid now Tatsumi, a part of our family. And family, no matter how dysfunctional, means nobody, gets left behind. Sayo and Ieyasu were your family right?"

"Yeah," Tatsumi replied and his face darkened. "But they're gone.

"Death cannot separate people Tatsumi," Bulat corrected him. "Because when someone close to you dies, it's up their friends and family to carry them. To carry their memories, to carry their personality, to carry their hopes and dreams! And finally… to carry them to their final resting place! All of it done to the end of time."

Tatsumi was speechless. Never before had he heard words spoken with such passion and purpose. It was as if a fire had been lit in the man's eyes that would burn without stop, but it was controlled. Like a force of nature forged into a powerful weapon.

Finding his voice, Tatsumi asked a question. "What do you mean 'all of it done to the end of time'?"

"A person's body it the ultimate reminder of who they once were. And so by burying their body, or cremating it, we say goodbye to the person that once lived. It's a sign of respect, even to those we didn't know."

"A sign of respect," Tatsumi repeated to himself. "But what about keeping them close if you have to say goodbye?"

"You do both," Bulat replied with a simple answer. "How you do it though, is something you must figure out for yourself."

Akame and Najenda, who had become invisible throughout the conversation, nodded their heads in agreement. Both had faced this reality and accepted it as truth. And all three senior members present knew Tatsumi would do the same. With that in mind, Bulat took his leave and said good night to them and segguested Tatsumi turn in and get a good night sleep for tomorrow.

It was strange though. Despite Bulat's words and multiple, seemingly infinite thoughts running through his head, his sleep was peaceful.

 **(] Agk [)**

It was mid morning the very next day and a group of ten or so men were treading carefully through the woods. Each of them bore a matching cloth that was either a hood or a scarf and their tan chests were bare along with a simple pair of pants and boots to adorn their lower half. One however, bore what appeared to be a wolfs head over his own and was at the front of the group.

"Hey boss, you really think their base is out here?" One asked.

"Of course," the one at the front responded and looked over the paper in his hand once more. "Our informant is never wrong."

 **{ Gale }**

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

 **I know I know. Some of you were probably wanting to see me do the whole tribal assassin's thing. But I honestly thought this was a good place to stop.**

 **Anyway, I got a few things going for this. Probably the biggest thing (As of now) is the addition of the four Splinter Groups who work in Night Raid's shadow. This Idea sprouted from when I expanded on the idea for one of the leaders (I won't tell you which one) because I didn't really feel like they belonged with the other revolutionary assassin group. So with a bit of time and thought, I came up with the idea before you.**

 **Next is … well. Bulat isn't a homosexual in this. I've never been a fan of the act which is one of two reasons why. I know that, for some of you, this may look as though I'm homophobic or something like that, when it's actually far from the truth. You can be a homosexual, a feminist, an SJW, an atheist, Muslim, anything. I will still treat you as a human, a person. For example, I know this person at my school, homosexual, and he's a pretty good guy. Very interactive, a good sense of humor, fairly good at singing. I don't treat him any differently than I would any other person.**

 **The other reason: I felt as though him being a homosexual was just a way to break the tension or get some chuckles, something that was just there. So I thought, what could I do to change this. Because despite this character trait, he comes off as more of a brother or mentor to Tatsumi.**

 **Now, as for why I chose Leone. They had a few things they share personality wise. Then a few things contradicting. She is this wild girl who is somewhat literally a beast, then he's a soldier with a burning passion in his heart. She's very flirtatious, he's one of those guys who's not afraid to be romantic.**

 **One the subject of Leone, she has this pet panther of her's who was a bit of a last minute addition. Leia is going to be Leone's sidekick of sorts who is essentially a bit of a side character who brings in a little humor. But don't think I don't have something planned. I do.**

 **And finally, I introduce to you Maxwell, who might I add bares a striking resemblance to a certain sniper. He'll play a pretty big roll later on so don't expect anything too major just yet. His story will pick up around the time frosty herself comes to town.**

 **Other than that, everything else should be self explanatory or to plot sensitive to speak about. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and may you have a** _ **Merry Christmas!**_


End file.
